The Application of a Smart Nexus for Agriculture in Korea for Assessing the Holistic Impacts of Climate Change

Abstract

Sustainable development involves maximizing the benefits of development while minimizing its consequent effects on the environment. This study uses a water–energy–food nexus framework, the Smart Nexus for Agriculture in Korea (SNAK), to assess the impact of climate change on sustainable resource management in agriculture. The nexus database applied in this study comprises three individual databases related to resources, interlinkages, and resource management scenarios, which include all variables and scenarios of the framework. Different resource management scenarios were evaluated via investigating the interlinkages between resources and quantifying resource consumption and sustainability. The variable selection and application module uses the interlinkage database to quantitatively model how the production and supply of one resource affects the consumption of other resources. The scenario analysis module involves the identification and application of resource management scenarios based on policies for individual resources and climate change. The sustainability evaluation module links the previous two modules to quantify food production, the consumption of food and energy resources, carbon (CO2) emissions, and land use in each scenario. Finally, resource security and economic benefits were considered when estimating the sustainability index of each scenario. The SNAK platform is anticipated to possess the ability to analyze environmental, social, and economic systems grounded in water, energy, and food. It is believed that the platform can optimize the timing and allocation of agricultural resources, leading to the derivation of optimal management scenarios. Furthermore, the platform will utilize water–energy–food linkage assessments to formulate scenario-based policies addressing food demand, water resource utilization, and energy consumption.